In surgical procedures, the surgeon's hands and instruments held my him, such as scapels and other bacteria-carrying implements, and which contact or are to contact the patient's body, particularly in an exposed body area undergoing treatment, are sterilized so that such hands and instruments and the like that do touch the patient's area being surgically treated are not contaminated with foreign bacteria harmful to the patient. By sterilizing these instruments then, they are not contaminated in a way harmful to the patient and of course, the are useful to the surgeon in successfully treating the patient.
Heretofore, no laser beam manipulator used in surgical operations was capable of being sterilized, because of its materials not being able to stand the stress or strain of autoclaving conditions. The materials would corrode, and in particular, would pit were they autoclaved. Consequently, the precise gimballing movements or motion, which are required in changing the direction of and controlling the treating laser beam, would be detrimentally affected were sterilization of the unit attempted. These manipulator assemblies were surgically cleaned by other methods which would remove contaminating bacteria. This invention produces a unique instrument by reason of its ability to be sterilized, thereby eliminating corrosion of its component parts and by the novel construction incorporating the materials discovered for its parts to make the laser beam manipulator autoclavable. Also, the construction itself, irregardless of nature of materials, is novel.
Further, the materials forming some elements of the invention include the characteristic of non-warping, i.e., not getting out of shape, because of the conditions accompanying the autoclavability of the manipulator. Thus, precise movement for these elements is maintained after autoclaving, and which provides the desired kind and degree of control of the laser beam. These elements include housing, gimballing elements (the piston here) and the compressible member in the adjusting means, and the mirrored element.